Chocolate Orange Scones

Scones are such a classic British staple, my favourite scone recipe is Mary Berry’s. These chocolate orange scones have the same basic ingredients, but I jazzed it up a little bit, just for a change. Although I still think nothing beats a classic scone with cream and jam! 🙂

Ingredients

400g flour
1 packet baking powder (ca. 1 tbsp)
1/2 tsp salt
70g butter
40g sugar
2 eggs, beaten
200ml buttermilk (or 200ml milk + 1 tbsp lemon juice)
Zest of 1/2 big orange (or one small orange)
3 tbsp orange juice (from the zested orange)
5-6 squares chocolate (50g), roughly chopped (you can add more or less chocolate depending on personal preference. I used 70% dark chocolate, but you could use milk as well)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C fan. In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Cut the butter into small cubes and rub into the flour mixture with your fingertips until all the butter is evenly distributed. Add the sugar and stir to combine.
3. Add the lightly beaten eggs (reserve a tiny bit for brushing the tops of the scones later), buttermilk and orange juice. Stir together gently with a big spoon, just until all of the dry ingredients are wet. Try to not over-mix.
4. Now add the orange zest and chopped chocolate and gently fold into the mixture.
5. Flour a surface lightly and tip out the dough onto it. Now you can either shape the dough into a flat disk and cut it into eight triangle shapes, or you can get a cutter and cut out circles. Whatever shape you prefer!
6. Place the scones on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and brush the top of the scones lightly with the reserved egg. Bake for about 15 minutes, until the scones are golden. A good test is to flip one scone over and tap the bottom. If it sounds hollow then it’s done! Chocolate orange scones are delicious served with butter or just ‘on their own’.

Notes/tips:

– These scones are especially nice served warm straight out of the oven and will be freshest if eaten on the day they were made. However, they can also be freshened up very easily by simply putting the scones in the oven for a couple of minutes the next day to heat through again, or by splitting them in half and toasting lightly.